Fine particles (PM10 and PM2.5)
particulate matter up to 10 and up to 2.5 micrometres across
Particles suspended in the air small enough to get into the lungs: PM10 up to 10 thousandths of a millimetre, PM2.5 up to 2.5.
Fine particles are particles small enough to stay suspended in the air. They are measured in micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m³). PM10 are up to 10 micrometres across and mostly stop in the nose and airways; PM2.5, up to 2.5 micrometres, reach deeper into the lungs and are the most harmful.
They come from wood and oil heating, traffic, industry and farming, and in the Po Valley in winter they linger for days.
Today's legal limits in Italy (Legislative Decree 155/2010) are a yearly average of 40 µg/m³ for PM10 and 25 for PM2.5, and for PM10 no more than 35 days a year above 50 µg/m³. From 2030 EU Directive 2024/2881 lowers them to 20 and 10. The World Health Organization recommends 15 and 5. The report shows where the address stands against all three thresholds.
Official source: www.eea.europa.eu
Check an address
Enter the address: the report summarises risks, local prices, population, services and transport, with the source for every figure.
For example: Via Dante 7, Milan.